CD Izarra · History

Club Deportivo Izarra play at Merkatondoa in Estella, Navarre, a ground that opened on 11 November 1928 with a match against CA Osasuna. It holds 3,500 spectators and its main stand has 600 seats. Between 1941 and 1978 it was called the Estadio de San Andrés. Much of the present ground dates from building work carried out in 1986 and 1987. In 2009 the grass pitch was replaced with an artificial surface and the stadium was reopened on 23 August that year. The club was founded on 6 January 1924 and play in blue and white vertical stripes, which earned them the nickname albiazules.

Foundation and early years

In the 1920s Estella already had several clubs, among them Sport Club Estellés, Unión Deportiva Estellesa and CD La Estrella, which played each other in local tournaments. Izarra emerged from that scene and in their early days competed as Izarra Beti Aurrera. In 1928 they joined the Navarre Football Federation, the same year they left their first ground, the Pieza del Conde, and moved to Merkatondoa. In 1943 they won promotion to the Tercera División for the first time.

Between the regional leagues and the Tercera

The club dropped to the regional leagues in 1957-58. The following season they reached the quarter-finals of the Spanish Amateur Championship, where they met Atlético de Madrid. Over the next decades they moved between regional football and short spells in the Tercera, such as 1960-61 and 1977-78, and won the Navarre Regional Preferente in 1956-57, 1959-60, 1967-68 and 1982-83. That last title took them back to the Tercera for 1983-84, and in 1984-85 they finished runners-up in their group behind SD Huesca.

The step up to Segunda División B

In 1989-90 Izarra won the Navarre-La Rioja group of the Tercera and earned their first promotion to Segunda División B, the Spanish third tier. Their debut season, 1990-91, ended in relegation, but they came straight back as runners-up in Group XV. Six straight seasons at that level followed, from 1992-93 to 1997-98, with two sixth-place finishes: in 1992-93 and in 1996-97, when they collected 57 points. Players of that era included Roberto Urroz, Kike Jurío, Iñaki Berastegui and Jorge Barbarin. They went down in 1997-98 after finishing 19th, returned in 1999-00 and finished bottom. In 2004-05 they fell to the regional leagues, ending a run of 22 consecutive seasons in national competition.

Rebuilding and new promotions

Winning the Regional Preferente in 2005-06 brought them back to the Tercera, where they won Group XV in 2007-08 and 2008-09; the second title earned promotion to Segunda B. On 15 May 2008 the club absorbed Club Deportivo Estella, founded in 1964 as AD Salvat. The 2009-10 campaign ended in 18th place and relegation. In 2010-11 they were runners-up and lost in the play-offs, and in 2011-12 they finished second with 90 points and 104 goals before winning the play-off. In 2012-13 they went down again, 20th with 35 points. In 2013-14 they won Group XV level on points with AD San Juan, edging them on goals scored, and in 2014-15 they reached the third round of the Copa del Rey, where Hospitalet knocked them out; that year they finished third in the league and went up through the play-offs. In December 2014, marking the club’s 90th anniversary, president Alfonso Canela was named Estella’s Person of the Year.

Segunda B and Segunda RFEF

Back in Segunda B, they finished 12th in 2015-16 and 13th in 2016-17. In 2017-18 they came 16th and survived through a relegation play-off against UE Llagostera. After 13th place in 2018-19 came 19th in 2019-20, a season halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020-21 they secured survival in the second phase and a place in the new Segunda RFEF, the fourth tier. There they finished 10th in both 2021-22 and 2022-23; in the 2022-23 Copa RFEF they beat Atlético Monzón in the round of 32 and lost to Terrassa FC in the last 16. After 13th place in 2023-24, the 2024-25 season ended bottom of the table with 21 points and relegation to the Tercera Federación in 2025, a decade after their previous promotion.

Honours and youth system

Izarra have won four Tercera División titles (1989-90, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2013-14), five Navarre Regional Preferente titles (1956-57, 1959-60, 1967-68, 1982-83 and 2005-06) and spent 16 seasons in Segunda División B. Midfielder Ruper came through the club’s academy, and captain Bruno Araiz passed 500 appearances over 16 seasons in the blue and white. The club has won the Navarre Federation Cup four times, in 2004, 2010, 2021 and 2024.